(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul reassured residents that access to and expansion of reproductive health care in the state is one of his top priorities in the wake of the General Election which narrowed Republican majorities in the state legislature and positioned Donald Trump as the next president.
“I want to reassure the people of the state of Wisconsin that at the Department of Justice we are going to continue fighting for your freedom, including your freedom to make your own reproductive health care decisions without government interference,” Kaul said at a news conference.
Kaul said he hoped Wisconsin lawmakers will follow the “very clear” will of Wisconsinites on the topic of abortion and codify abortion protections into law.
“The surest way for protecting access is for the new legislature that’s going to be coming into session to pass laws that protect access to safe and legal abortion in Wisconsin,” he said. “Donald Trump repeatedly said that this is a states issue now, and so it is up to our state legislators to take action on these issues.”
Joined by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Chief Strategy Officer Michelle Velasquez, Kaul urged lawmakers from moderate and purple districts to support “common-sense” changes to state laws on abortion, such as changing the underlying statutory structure to clarify abortion protections and ensure that laws do not create an undue burden on women seeking abortion.
“So for those legislators in these districts that are very moderate – where those districts could go either way – I think we ought to ask those folks, do they support some common-sense changes that will protect access to abortion care in Wisconsin?” Kaul said.
Kaul deferred on what he thinks is a common-sense time frame of when abortions could be performed during a pregnancy and declined to affirm or deny whether a 20 week period would be reasonable, saying that right now he’s focused on “protecting basic access” adding that more precise discussions could be held at a later time and include the input of medical experts.
